Ghetto Priest aka Squidz is one of the most flamboyant, creative performers to have emerged from the London music scene in the past few years. Like the community from which he hails, Ghetto Priest is a man at ease with multiple musical visions. Walk through the streets of London and you begin to grasp the flow and the rhythm that has produced his unique sound. It’s a community of exchange; African/Caribbean and Irish, Asian and English, each mixing and informing the other, lending beats and grooves, keeping things fresh and new.
Born and raised in the east end of London to Afro-Caribbean parents, he has been making reggae, dub and experimental music now for over two decades. He has been a mainstay of the On-U Sound camp where he started out as backing vocalist and percussionist for the band African Head Charge.
In 2004 Ghetto Priest released his critically acclaimed debut album Vulture Culture, produced by Adrian Sherwood. Three tracks from this album: “Rise Up”, “Masters Of Deception”, and “Visionary” were used on the soundtrack for the for the film Johnny Was. Also during this time Ghetto Priest and Adrian Sherwood were called upon by renowned Scottish artist Graham Fagen to do a remake of the famous 17th century poet Robert Burns song “Slaves Lament”, to be used for the ‘Clean Hands, Pure Hearts’ art exhibition he was putting on at the Tramway in Glasgow. The result was a heart rendering rendition by Ghetto Priest, revived in 2015 for Fagen’s appearance at the world renowned Venice Biennale.
In 2004, Ghetto Priest also collaborated with Asian Dub Foundation on “Fortress Europe” for their Enemy Of The Enemy album, which led to him becoming a full-time member. He toured with ADF globally for four years captivating audiences with his vocal and mystical stage presence. During the time of the invasion of Iraq, Asian Dub Foundation released an album titled TANK, with Ghetto Priest’s vocal & writing services is an integral part.
Ghetto Priest continues to record and perform, and new material is currently cooking in the On-U studios.